PIM - Community Building in an IM Environment

Bharti Telesoft Limited1

Community Building in an IM EnvironmentFrom Social Messaging to Social Media

Arun TanksaliVP – Technology

Bharti Telesoft Limited

PIM SeminarTuesday 17th February, 2009


Mobile IM Landscape

Forces at Work

Globalizing the IM Footprint

Monetizing IM

Go-to-market Strategy

IMPS as a Gateway to VAS

Building a New Social Media

Bharti Telesoft and IMPS

Agenda


Mobile IM – An Overview

Fast-moving lifestyles require fast-moving communicationCommunications styles are moving beyond one-to-one engagements

Mobile IM – the Number 1 Mobile Social Networking Tool

Presenter

Presentation Notes

For the younger generation in particular (i.e. 13-30 year-olds), communication is no longer confined to one-to-one interchange of vital information but increasingly revolves around interactive, social messaging and networking services such as Instant Messaging, which provide consumers a virtual hang-out to collaborate and share everyday life experiences, as well as engage in a variety of interactions: professional, informal, playful and intimate, real-time, with a global user community. In 2007, Comscore estimates 385 million unique customers across the globe made active use of online IM services, constituting one of the largest universal communication networks in existence..[1] �[1] ComScore Media Metrix, “Media Advisory: Microsoft Bids on Yahoo!”, February 5, 2008 With wireless telephony services enjoying significantly high market penetration, it's the cell phone, rather than the personal computer, that is the constant companion for today's connected and socially networked individual. Fast-moving lifestyles have created demand for efficient sources of on the move, real-time communication, information and entertainment. Mobile-enabled access to IM hence represents a logical extension to the popular interactive social messaging services. Fusing built-in rich Instant Messaging features including presence, address book, buddy lists, and many-to-many dialogue-based communication with the inherent, personal, ‘always-on’ and pedestrian nature of the mobile device has the potential to create unprecedented levels of user engagement, build branded communities and enhance operator data revenues.


The Interactivity Market

•Some trends don’t change!

• SMS traffic volumes overshadow other messaging media

•IM uptake growing rapidly

• Though mobile email attracts >100% more subscribers than IM

Source: Portio Research – Mobile Messaging Futures

IM does not cannibalize SMS Experience shows 50% of IM revenues are from SMS


Forces at Work

IPzation of NetworksAdequate bandwidth for Internet-based services254 operators have WCDMA in 110 countries

Web and the ‘Prosumer’Web 2.0 sites – flickr, YouTube etc, shape consumer behaviourConsumers are Producers of interactivity, content

ConvergenceTechnological trends: digitization, shifts towards Internet protocol (IP), common standards and services interoperability

Device EvolutionSmart handsets at favorable price points16GB storage – iPhone etcIdeal for downloading client–based rich communications

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Device Evolution The availability of smart handsets (models that include social media capture and viewing capabilities) at favorable price points is the key driver fuelling the MIM growth trend. According to IDC, the converged device category is the fastest selling among mobile phones, registering an annual approximate growth rate of 40%. The new category of functionally-sophisticated devices, promising improved resolution, navigation, and increased storage capacity - from the previous 1MB to 4MB of storage typically found in first generation mobile phones to 16GB of storage in recent models, such as Apple’s iPhone and Nokia’s N96, are ideally suited to download compelling client–based rich communications and content applications. Convergence The rapidly evolving convergence marketplace is fuelling the MIM trend. Technological trends driving convergence include digitization, shifts towards Internet protocol (IP), common standards and services interoperability. These are creating fundamental shifts in the landscape between the communications, high technology and media industries. The boundaries demarcating these industries are becoming increasingly fluid with telecommunications service providers offering IP data and content services, device manufacturers launching IP-based delivery channels and online content players offering voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) as a fundamental services offerings. IPzation The shift towards “IPzation” and the growing pervasiveness of high-speed networks guarantees adequate bandwidth for Internet-based services and applications, including MIM. According to the GSMA’s January 2009 statistics, 254 operators have launched WCDMA in 110 countries. Over 93% of commercial WCDMA networks have launched HSPA. The GSMA estimates over 70% of commercial HSDPA networks globally support peak downlink speeds of 3.6 megabytes per second or higher. Over 34% of HSDPA networks support 7.2 Mbps (peak) or higher. The “always on” connectivity and high data transmission speeds provided by mobile networks implies transmission technology is gearing up for a potentially faster uptake of new IP session, as well as streaming services. Web 2.0 and the Prosumer The growing movement towards convergence and improvements in communication technologies are shaped by and in turn are influencing digital services consumption behavior. An entire generation - having grown on an array of portable digital technology - PCs, Ipods and mobile phones are increasingly seeking choice, flexibility and control over the media experience and are demanding interactive services and tools to communicate, create and share content and services wherever they are, on whatever screen or gizmo is most convenient. This means wireless and portable, both at home and on the road. Indeed, the online poster Web 2.0 sites — sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, Wikipedia, digg, delicious, YouTube, and flickr — have proven their ability to aggregate large audiences and influence consumer behavior and popular culture. “People power” and new ways to consume content is not confined to mature markets and continues to drive change throughout the industry. In emerging markets in Asia and Africa, the mobile is the principal computing and connectivity device with penetration exceeding PCs. with the number of Indians with access to broadband services totals 5 million as compared to 50 million mobile Internet users. An entire generation of young emerging market consumers aged between 15 and 35, accustomed to accessing, viewing and experiencing a variety of online services from their mobile devices, is open to harnessing and embracing the interactive multimedia capabilities of mobile phones to blog, upload photos and send instant messages. The social networking site Orkut, for instance, is ranked third in the table of most popular Internet sites in India[1]. The mobile fits perfectly into their lifestyles and is not a service delivery channel to receive and passively consume content but a tool for active content creation and participation. �[1] www.alexa.com


Globalizing the IM Footprint

Leverage existing 800+ million community strength and realize Metcalfe’s Law

Interconnect with Fixed IM Providers

Interconnect with Telecom Service

Providers

Enable Messaging Interoperability

Support open standards

Support device interoperability

Provide SMS Continuity

IMPS over USSD -reach more users


Monetizing IM

Presence InformationBridges the communication gaps between the sender and the recipientEnables constant updating of presence statusShareable with 3rd

party applications

Customer IntelligenceDynamic data e.g. MSISDN, age, gender, location, country etcContextual information and analytics - credit history, preferencesOperators can deploy fine-grained segmentation policies

Location, Location, Location

LBS isn’t pervasive, but:Users, 3rd parties, other applications collaborate and exploit local knowledgeOperators use this info to offer relevant services

Ensure global interoperability and interworking with other messaging servicesProvide attractive extensions to current vanilla MIM functionality, and Adopt effective MIM and go-to-market strategy

Leverage Unique Assets

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Leverage Unique Assets Operators conventional messaging services delivery models are at a tipping point, with over-the-top MIM delivery models and innovation strategies challenging the operator’s control over the subscriber. A growing number of service providers are consequently looking at how they can retain control over their customers and address their needs in a more comprehensive manner. Operators possess significant unique capabilities and assets, including presence and location capabilities, as well as detailed end-user profiles, which are not as easily available to Internet-based competitors and can be successfully leveraged to render services in accordance with the current context of the MIM user. With a carefully designed context management concept combined with a content and service metadata management system, operators can fend third party competition, quickly adapt to changing market dynamics, create a compelling and differentiated MIM value proposition and generate revenue streams that they control. Presence Real time presence information (i.e. online, busy, unavailable etc.) – is one of the most significant feature sets offered by Instant Messaging. Presence plays a vital role in bridging the communication gaps between the sender and the recipient, as it enables users to convey real-time information on availability and communication preferences at different intervals. Location While LBS is not specifically ‘Mobile Web 2.0’ (and is not yet a mass market application), if used in conjunction with other applications and databases, it allows users to share their location details with others (users, third-parties or other applications), collaborate with those nearby and exploit local knowledge. Operators can leverage the data to provide premium services to the subscriber, based on their geographic location. Customer Intelligence Telecom service providers also have a rich set of intellectual properties and end-user data to monetize. Profiles are dynamic social media showcases (pages), which can be updated by the author and enhanced with social networking features such as interaction. For each user the following self reported information is stored: MSISDN, age, gender, location, country, language as well as billing data, contextual information and analytics, credit history and social networking interests. This enables operators to deploy fine-grained segmentation policies to effectively tailor and target services.


Integrated Presence

Presence server maintains current state of the subscriber

Details on country/network/cell etc

Info available as triggers to interested applications (rule based)

Subscribers/applications can opt-in/register specific subscriber/location pairs for generating notifications

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Compared with other available forms of messaging such as SMS and MMS, presence, which indicates a user’s responsive status, is a compelling functional differentiator and contributes to a richer messaging experience. Presence information plays a vital role in bridging the communication gap between the sender and the recipient as it enables users to ascertain who is ‘available’, their location and context and determine the most appropriate communication mode, thus making messaging more personal and increasing the likelihood of a response. Frequent status updates signaled by MIM users to their wider social community open up new revenue possibilities around presence-based services. Operator’s can abstract, reuse and share information such as a user’s status update, as well as availability and profile information with other systems and applications over and above MIM. For example, the operator can create a differentiated service transaction environment by integrating user preference information into their marketing campaigns. To effectively target MIM users, who register to receive multi-media marketing messages and third party services, the service provider can activate a business logic application to track and construct an interactive session, taking into account the • Recipient’s presence information, • Recipient’s current preferences (busy, barring, do not disturb, straight to voicemail) • Recipient’s mood (happy, lazy, glum, smiling) caller preferences (no divert to voicemail, no video please) • Current time/date • Recipient’s current credit This gives the user greater flexibility and control over their service experiences, making them more receptive to interactive content services. Likewise, by providing presence information, even voice calls can be routed according to preference, increasing the likelihood of call completion.


Go-to-Market Strategy

13 18 22 32 45 55+ Years

Target Audience for Mobile

IM

Target the right demographic!Pricing mechanismUsabilityIM as an Integrated VAS platform

Fine tuned segmentation keyNot the Internet modelPreloaded, downloadable, featurGaming, Voice Chat, InfoBuddies

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Teenagers and young professionals are the obvious target for the MIM service. Participatory cultures however take the form of “affiliations” (i.e. informal and formal memberships built around various forms of media, which include social networking sites, message boards and gaming communities), “expressions” (producing transformative forms of creative expression such as mash-ups and fan fiction), “collaborative problem-solving” (working in teams to complete tasks and contribute to a knowledge base using a wiki or other collaborative environment), and “circulations” (changing the distribution and flow of media through tools like blogging and podcasting). However, MIM users need to be further segmented on the basis of their behaviors or activities.


Community Dynamics

JoinersWant to learn but are passive users

NetworkersProactively seek connections

Active RespondentsProvide valued feedback and drive log-ins

CreatorsRegular documenters of their world

Community MembersIMPS binds together multiple communities across Internet space

Desktop IM – MSN, Yahoo, GTalk

Blogging communities – You Tube

Social networking – Facebook, Orkut, MySpace

Many users with over 1,000 messages/day

Many users with only 1-to-1 messaging - Single buddy

60:40 ratio of own to foreign network messages

Interoperability a must to plug revenue leakage

Presenter

Presentation Notes

· Joiners: They establish a presence on a mobile community platform to learn how to use the service. However most joiners are likely to be passive users. · Networkers: They actively seek new connections with people. They frequently use community search functions and pay attention to the new content generated by others. They like to be the first to see and link to exceptional content and are regular purchasers (collectors) of digital content, though they are rarely found on mobile portals. Where and when they are available, collectors are avid users of tagging. · Active Respondents: Are those who play an active role in the community by offering value/feedback through comments. The respondents are vital to the health of mobile (and online) communities because they return value to those who have created original comments or content. Respondents can establish a reputation in a community and drive log-ins from other user groups who trust and seek the respondent’s opinion. · Creators: Actively (at least weekly) generate social media for themselves and others. They capture and upload or document their world, or create new m photographs or video clips for their friends, family members, fans and – in some mobile communities – to generate income for themselves. This taxonomy has other uses for mobile community operators. For example, those developing new features for their communities can test usability with only the target user segment. To drive adoption of new features, such as might be possible with the design of reward structures (e.g., points) for usage, the incentives could appeal directly to the different user segments. Pricing Mechanisms Pricing Mechanisms are an essential component of the go-to-market strategy. The business models of PC-based IM and mobile IM are very different; the starkest example of this relates to the issue of charging. PC-based IM has negligible costs associated with it and is funded by limited advertising. In contrast, mobile operators have sunk costs (i.e., licenses and infrastructure) they wish to recover and existing chargeable revenue streams to protect. As a result, the free service enjoyed on the Internet can't be replicated on the mobile device. Paying for services is well established in the mobile environment; there is a degree of user acceptance that does not exist on the Internet. Operators’ pricing plans pray a critical role in driving services’ uptake. Operators can choose from a variety of pricing strategies. Eg sachet pricing, subscription based or usage based, ad sponsored pricing, event based pricing, bundled pricing. Usability and User Experience ·Over the air configuration for downloadable clients: As the number of functions on mobile sets continues to grow, users find it increasingly tedious to configure services and applications on their devices. Dynamically configuring devices enables specific services to be accessed over the air. ·Authentication and Authorization: Operators need to enhance the user-friendliness of the end-user experience via a single sign on and then sharing of all services provided over the IM client. ·Transcoding: Device adaptation applies to adapting the presentation of data to each device according to the device settings, ensuring that VAS provided to subscribers are delivered in the optimum manner, creating the best possible user experience. ·Integrated Address Book: Operators can integrate all users’ communities within a single framework via a converged address book. ·Search Functionality: Customers care about a fun and easy to- use way to find and download games, ringers, and screensavers and get Web content. Operators need to integrate search mechanisms enabling users to lookup contacts and content in a minimal time. ·Central Contact Book Provide a contact back-up solution whereby users back-up their phone book and upload it to the operator’s server is an additional feature that an operator can provide to its IM users. Users can restore their contact list from the operator’s server in case of data loss or change of handheld device. ·Easy Browsing and Navigation: Operators who integrate IM with online social media services need to ensure users can seamlessly upload content on these websites. ·Engage Users: To continuously improve ease-of-use, operators need to survey users at various stages of the service lifecycle. When utilized effectively consumer feedback can qualitatively improve service development and delivery processes, enabling operators to launch services in line with user needs and avoid situations where users reject services for unknown reasons. ·Speech Enabling IM: For users in emerging markets speech enabling IM can be a significant driver for expanding the user base: }Speech Messaging provides subscribers with the ability to manage their messages by using the spoken word. }Speech Dialing offers hands-free dialing from any telephone using voice commands and their personal address book. }Speech Information lets subscribers use spoken commands to easily access a wide variety of compelling information services, productivity enhancing applications and entertainment programs from any telephone. Gaming Games represent another natural MIM integration opportunity, as multiplayer mobile gaming is expected to experience strong growth over the next several years. Indeed, extending the online gaming community experience to the mobile community represents another natural mobile extension of online usage behavior. In addition, game developers and advertisers are very interested in using opportunities such as MIM to understand and solicit gaming users’ experiences with and opinions about games or advertise products and services within the games themselves. Infobuddies Information service providers can deliver personalized integrated content to MIM users. This feature can provide personalized real-time updates on weather, sports, traffic, stock quotes, and other information from their MIM address books. Integrate Voice Chat with Other Media Operators can cement alliances with third party brands and market the voice chat service as a promotional tool among music and entertainment studios. For instance, as part of their marketing strategy, music studios could leverage the Voice Chat service to promote a new music album or movie via scheduled live interactions between the artist and the audience. Many live radio and television shows are interactive in nature inviting audience opinion and questions. Operators could explore alliances with television channels to ensure users participate in talk shows via the Voice Chat service.


System Ticker

Advertisement Banner

Advertisement as Background

Acts as a content management tool

Content uploadContent sharing with buddiesFile transferContact Backup/Restore

Marketing Dynamics

Evaluate pros and cons of:Subscription-, usage-, event-based pricing

Sachet-, bundled pricing

Ad sponsored model

Pricing Approach

Ease of use, navigational simplicityFeatures – address book, search tool, content managementPreloaded – downloadable – OTA configurationSpeech-enabled IM

User Experience

Ad Sponsored Model

Content Management

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Pricing Mechanisms Pricing Mechanisms are an essential component of the go-to-market strategy. The business models of PC-based IM and mobile IM are very different; the starkest example of this relates to the issue of charging. PC-based IM has negligible costs associated with it and is funded by limited advertising. In contrast, mobile operators have sunk costs (i.e., licenses and infrastructure) they wish to recover and existing chargeable revenue streams to protect. As a result, the free service enjoyed on the Internet can't be replicated on the mobile device. Paying for services is well established in the mobile environment; there is a degree of user acceptance that does not exist on the Internet. Operators’ pricing plans pray a critical role in driving services’ uptake. Operators can choose from a variety of pricing strategies. Eg sachet pricing, subscription based or usage based, ad sponsored pricing, event based pricing, bundled pricing. Usage-based Pricing and subscription-based Pricing Revenues generated from subscription-based pricing bear a direct relationship with the number of subscribers enrolled for the service. Subscriptions are more profitable for operators, as they offer a regular revenue stream, independent of usage patterns. Operators however face a dilemma in charging users for the service. They can neither afford to drastically reduce the price of IM for fear that it may erode their SMS revenues, nor can they keep a very high price for the service, which would hamper the mass adoption of IM. Operators need to strike a careful balance between the pricing of SMS and IM. Event-based Pricing Although per event billing can hamper the uptake of IM services, operators can adopt the strategy to prevent market share erosion by Internet players and promote their branded IM clients. Turkcell, Turkey’s leading operator charges a flat data rate for its own branded client, but a per message charge to users opting for Windows Live. Likewise, Bharti Airtel charges a flat monthly subscription rate of 50 INR (US$1.00) for its branded IM service but users are charged (US$1.20) to access clients offered by Internet players. Bundled Pricing SMS revenues comprise a significant share of operators’ data revenues. It is therefore crucial to position mobile IM in such a way that it does not cannibalize SMS revenues, at least in the short term. Bundling of SMS, mobile IM, as well as other messaging services, such as MMS, e-mail and push-to-talk, as an integrated package can drive messaging volumes and boost overall ARPU. In addition to bundling messaging services, operators can also experiment by bundling mobile IM with other Internet services and applications, such as web browsing and ringtone and games downloads. NTT DoCoMo and KDDI in Japan have successfully implemented a strategy with unlimited browsing and email available to users at a flat monthly subscription charge. The low-cost, flat rate tariff plans have helped the Japanese operators to drive email usage amongst their subscriber base to more than 80% penetration. KDDI revealed that its data ARPU more than doubled after introduction of the low-cost flat-free tariffs. Sachet Pricing An approximate 70% of customers in emerging markets opt for prepaid subscriptions as it allows them to control telephony spends in line with budgetary outlays. In the fastest growing markets, such as India, Bharti Telesoft, with its vast experience of deploying top-up solutions for mobile operators, has observed an approximate 40% of customers maintain a minimal balance between 30 and 50 INR (between US$0.62 and US$1.04). To effectively address price-sensitive prepaid customers, operators in emerging markets need to adopt innovative pricing mechanisms, such as a limited-duration low-value denomination IM service pack, allowing customers to access IM for a day or a week. Ad-Sponsored Models Building communities to create and sustain excitement in the brand is increasingly being seen as an essential marketing tool. Globally, customers are increasingly engaging themselves in an active and explicit dialogue with products and services manufacturers. The markets are evolving to become a forum in which consumers play an active role in creating and competing for value. In light of these developments, Mobile IM can provide a tool to create communities around brands whereby consumers have an opportunity to experience consumption, not only with the brand but with also other users of the brand in a community setting. The actual nature of consumer engagement over mobile IM would depend on the nature of the brand. However, the various advertising options include: · Creating chat rooms/communities based on certain brands and/or products. The real-time interactivity can be leveraged to gain client feedback and developing closer end-user relationships. · Companies could also advertise by way of sponsoring certain target communities and, in tandem, push Egift vouchers directly. Contextual ‘infotising’ allows targeting in a way that has until now not been possible. For example, fashion or music chat rooms automatically provide information on purchaser preferences, which allows targeting of the user and hence increased value for the advertisers. Usability and User Experience ·Over the air configuration for downloadable clients: As the number of functions on mobile sets continues to grow, users find it increasingly tedious to configure services and applications on their devices. Dynamically configuring devices enables specific services to be accessed over the air. ·Authentication and Authorization: Operators need to enhance the user-friendliness of the end-user experience via a single sign on and then sharing of all services provided over the IM client. ·Transcoding: Device adaptation applies to adapting the presentation of data to each device according to the device settings, ensuring that VAS provided to subscribers are delivered in the optimum manner, creating the best possible user experience. ·Integrated Address Book: Operators can integrate all users’ communities within a single framework via a converged address book. ·Search Functionality: Customers care about a fun and easy to- use way to find and download games, ringers, and screensavers and get Web content. Operators need to integrate search mechanisms enabling users to lookup contacts and content in a minimal time. ·Central Contact Book Provide a contact back-up solution whereby users back-up their phone book and upload it to the operator’s server is an additional feature that an operator can provide to its IM users. Users can restore their contact list from the operator’s server in case of data loss or change of handheld device. ·Easy Browsing and Navigation: Operators who integrate IM with online social media services need to ensure users can seamlessly upload content on these websites. ·Engage Users: To continuously improve ease-of-use, operators need to survey users at various stages of the service lifecycle. When utilized effectively consumer feedback can qualitatively improve service development and delivery processes, enabling operators to launch services in line with user needs and avoid situations where users reject services for unknown reasons. ·Speech Enabling IM: For users in emerging markets speech enabling IM can be a significant driver for expanding the user base: }Speech Messaging provides subscribers with the ability to manage their messages by using the spoken word. }Speech Dialing offers hands-free dialing from any telephone using voice commands and their personal address book. }Speech Information lets subscribers use spoken commands to easily access a wide variety of compelling information services, productivity enhancing applications and entertainment programs from any telephone. Gaming Games represent another natural MIM integration opportunity, as multiplayer mobile gaming is expected to experience strong growth over the next several years. Indeed, extending the online gaming community experience to the mobile community represents another natural mobile extension of online usage behavior. In addition, game developers and advertisers are very interested in using opportunities such as MIM to understand and solicit gaming users’ experiences with and opinions about games or advertise products and services within the games themselves. Infobuddies Information service providers can deliver personalized integrated content to MIM users. This feature can provide personalized real-time updates on weather, sports, traffic, stock quotes, and other information from their MIM address books. Integrate Voice Chat with Other Media Operators can cement alliances with third party brands and market the voice chat service as a promotional tool among music and entertainment studios. For instance, as part of their marketing strategy, music studios could leverage the Voice Chat service to promote a new music album or movie via scheduled live interactions between the artist and the audience. Many live radio and television shows are interactive in nature inviting audience opinion and questions. Operators could explore alliances with television channels to ensure users participate in talk shows via the Voice Chat service.


IMPS – A Gateway to VASA Social Media Phenomenon


Building a New Social MediaR

ich

Sim

ple

12-Months

Create Compelling

Talking Points

Invite Users to Share and

Publish Experiences

Build Knowledge-Centric

Communities

Launch Affiliated Marketing Programs –

Reward Usage

Invite Experts and Celebrity

Guests

Use

r Inv

olve

men

t

TimeNow

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Create Compelling “Talking Points” Although virtual in nature, digital communities do not function in isolation but in political, economic and social milieu that affect their composition, structure and operations. In the initial stages, operators need to create compelling “talking points” – centered around topical events to encourage customers to share and exchange their views. To cite an example, a chat room inviting opinion on US elections: “How will Obama’s election as US President change the relationship between Africa and the West?” is likely to generate greater interest than a community branded “Obama” or “US elections. ” The former opens the conversation inviting users to agree or disagree rather than merely providing cues for a gradual conversation build-up. Invest in Building Knowledge-Centric Communities The formation of knowledge-based communities can broaden the scope of voice chat services. To drive uptake, the operator can extend the scope of voice chat services to include advisory and counseling services. Operators can invite diverse subject matter experts, including career counselors, medical counselors, agricultural experts, stock market and financial advisors, education counselors, parenting experts, senior members from the government to function as focal members of the community around which specific chat communities are organized. Invite Experts or Celebrity Guests Operators can invite cultural, political and social icons with a large fan following to the chat service. Many users would consider it a privilege to have celebrities as chat buddies, resulting in higher services take up. Launch Affiliate Marketing Programs The efficacy of social-network communities such as voice chat is dependent on members (sometimes called nodes) and a set of ties that connect some or all nodes. Referral programs tapping into customers’ social affiliate networks can help operators build a critical service mass. Referral programs serve as a more powerful marketing tool than operator-led advertising as it conveys an implied endorsement from a friend. To ensure the referral program does not under-perform, operators can promote the scheme widely via SMS. Furthermore, reward customers with additional voice chat minutes for every referral, who uses the service for more than a certain number of minutes a week. Reward Customers for Using the Service Point-based reward schemes that can be redeemed for additional talk time can improve frequency and duration of usage. Operators can deploy a variety of parameters to award customers including duration of chat, novelty of chat room, number of invites sent and accepted by a specific member. Invite Users to Share and Publish “Experiences” on the Virtual Highway Experiences can be leveraged to engage consumers with the service in personally relevant and memorable ways. For instance, SMS campaigns inviting users to share experiences in 160 characters on the manner in which IM helped them forge a deeper relationship and reunite with family and friends can stimulate interest in the service. Service users who send the most novel, sentimental and warm message could be rewarded with additional talk-time. Experiential marketing campaigns such as these can also help operators gain valuable insight by interacting directly with consumers outside the mass-media landscape. �


Bharti Telesoft and IMPS


IMPS Platform

IMPS ServerIM, Presence, Groups

IMPS GatewayInteroperability between IMPS communities

IMCAS EngineOther Value-added Services

IM Secure Engine

IMPS Client SuiteJ2ME IM ClientsWindows Mobile IM clients

Pocket PC IM clientSmartphone IM Client

Desktop, Web, BREW IM Clients

For Legacy HandsetsWAP and SMS IM Clients

Bharti Telesoft Instant Messaging Content Application and Adaptation Server, a VAS engine to deliver high-end IM applications

OMA compliant - standard IM protocols and specificationsRealistic billing model - charges sender of message Retains identity of service provider -> brand and niche buildingExploits parallel developments in handset and infrastructure solutions


Complete Interoperability


IMPS Client Interoperability


IMPS Gateway

Interoperability with other IMPS communitiesBased on SSP, supports OMA IMPS SSP 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3 protocolsCompliant to GSMA IMPS InterconnectSSP adaptors

Built to ensure interoperability with any proprietary IMPS servers

RoutingDomain based routingDeployment across operators -operator identified by a domain name <user>@mobileim.airtel.com)

FeaturesExchanging messagesBuddy verification during adding remote buddiesPresence notificationsInvitations Joining and leaving chat rooms/extended conversationsGroup change notifications


Central Communication Client

The IM client is mainly for P2P Instant Messaging

Supports all types of mobile communication

Video and voice calls

SMS and MMS

All available from within the IM client

Induces stickiness


Existing short code based services can be plugged into the IM platform.

Simple, fast service discovery

No need to remember short codes

Bearer of request can be SMS/USSD

Services appear as a Buddy or Contact

Flexible framework Can create event based packages

Applications available on our IM:• Prepaid top up

• Self care applications

• Balance Query, tariff change

• CRBT content discovery

• Infotainment services, games and contests

• News feeds, astrology, stocks, cricket, jokes ... to name a few

A2P and P2A Messages

User Experience - VAS Buddies


Bharti Telesoft Benefits

Ideal Technology Partner

Reliable Supplier of Proven Carrier-scale VAS Infrastructure

Mature field-proven products – deployed at over 100 operator networks

Track record of complex integrationsPre-paid/IN systems, Billing, Provisioning

Rising to Business & Technology challengesSplit-architecture innovation

Video Delivery services


IMPS References

MTNL

http://www.aircel.com/index.asp

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Vodacom_logo.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Vodacom_logo.jpg


Our Global Presence

PARAGUAY

KENYA

IVORY COAST

BURKINA FASO

MILANJORDAN

DUBAI

NEW DELHI

MUMBAI

BANGALORE

MAURITIUS

KOREAUSA

TAIWAN

UK

CHINA

EGYPTKSA*

BAHRAIN

YEMEN

*Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

SOUTH AFRICA

AUSTRALIA

BANGLADESH

BHARTI TELESOFTASSOCIATES

Planned hubs Sales offices


Our Portfolio

mLifestyleDelivery and management of rich and varied content for all subscriber segments

mCommerceProvision of financial and commercial services from the mobile handset

Core VASInteractivity applications, mobile Internet, call management and roaming services

Business Support SolutionsDeliver lifetime end-to-end customer satisfaction and network value

Managed VASManagement of the operator’s wide range of VAS installations

Mobile Device SolutionsHandset applications to simplify the mobile user experience

HubsHub solutions facilitate service expansion and improve ROI


Our Global Customer Base

Customers in over 70 countries worldwide


www.bhartitelesoft.com

Thank You

PIM - Community Building in an IM Environment

Technology

Transcript of PIM - Community Building in an IM Environment